The present invention concerns in general the application of continuous strand material to planar substrates, and concerns in particular related method, apparatus, and finished panels all relating to application of decorative strand material such as continuous textile yarns to panels for providing panels with prefinished surfaces.
In many construction techniques, it is often typical to first erect a wall, and then decorate such wall, for example with paint, wallpaper, or some other form of wall covering. The appearance of the finished wall in large measure depends on the nature and quality of the wall covering. For example, wallpaper may vary from a relatively inexpensive paper or vinyl based product, to textured wallpaper products, to layered products having relatively heavy-gauge substrates with grass cloth weave patterns or the like on their face surface.
Often times, a newly erected wall must be prepared before wall treatments can be applied. For example, walls of sheetrock must be spackled and sanded before any paint or wallpaper may be applied. Thus, in general, time savings may be obtained at construction sites (for either new construction or renovation) if a prefinished surface is provided on wall material, such as panelling, plywood, or fiber wallboard.
A variety of products generally having prefinished face surfaces are available to the building trade. Examples of such products include fiberboard with wallpaper preattached; masonite with vinyl wall covering pre-bonded; and free standing fiberglass cores with fabric covering on both sides. Other free standing products include honeycombed walls with wall coverings on both sides.
In general, wall coverings which incorporate textile yarn surfaces are both known, and very desireable, for their many decorative and practical qualities. On the decorative side, textile yarns lend warmth and beauty, offering a variety of colors. On the practical side, textile yarns provide good insulation (thermal insulation) and sound insulation or absorbency.
Construction panels having prefinished surfaces can have aesthetic drawbacks due to obvious or apparent seams between adjacent panels, caused by interruption of their respective decorative coverings. If wall coverings are applied to erected wall surfaces, typically seams in the wall coverings (such as seams between adjacent sheets of wallpaper) are not coextensive with seams in the wall panels, and are thus not a problem. Wall seams may be otherwise hidden (such as with spackling and sanding, mentioned above). However, some wall coverings are more difficult to apply to erected walls than others. For example, heavier gauge wallpaper having a grass cloth face surface may be more difficult to hang than lighter weight pre-pasted vinyl wall coverings. Other wall coverings, such as a plurality of respective continuous textile yarns, may be even more difficult to apply to existing or newly erected walls.